Leather-blank-cutting die.



PATENTED AUG. 18,

H. STOOKMAN. LEATHER BLANK CUTTING DIE.

APPLIUATION FILED DBO 21, 1907. v

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Y VAA (111 001 I "o z y 5500767716020 No. 896,478. PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908. H. STOGKMAN.

LEATHER BLANK CUTTING DIE.

APPLICATION FILED DEG. 21, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

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HENRY STOCKMAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

' LEATHER-BLANK-GUTTIN'G DIE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 18, 1908.

Application filed December 21, 1907. Serial No. 407,522.

To all whom it may-concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY S'rooKMAN,

citizen of the United States, and resident of New York, in the county of New York and ,State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Leather- Blank-Cutting Dies, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates more especially to improvements in the cutting dies and the coacting cut-blank strippers shown in my prior United States Patent, Number 703,160, granted June 24th 1902, for; leather cutting machines.

The present invention has for its more special object to provide for cleanly and simultaneously cutting series of leather sole-blanks in rights and lefts or with the toe of one blank beside the heel of the adjoining blank to thereby avoid waste of valuable leather stock.

- suitable leather cutting A further object of the invention is to pro vide a leather cutting die the effective area of I lank stripping devices while improving the stripping operation and facilitating easy and precise vertical adjustment of the stripping plates;

The invention comprises certain structural features and o erative functions of the dies and the blank stri ping devices whereby the above named objects are most satisfactorily attained; all as Wlll be hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is made to the accom anying drawings forming part of this spec' cation, and in which Figure 1 is a front view of a leather cutting machine equi ped with dies embodying the invention. ig. 2 is a partly broken out seetional side viewithereof.

the line aa in Fig. 6. Fig. 4 is a like scale detail front view showing one arrangement of fastenings by which the die sections may be locked together. verse section taken on the line b-b in Fig. 6.

7 r Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical section taken on Fig. 5"is a detail trans-- Fig. 6 is a plan view to larger scale showing two and one-half of the five die sections illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 7 is an elevational end view of the left-hand die section shown in Fig. 6; and Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view showing the cutting edge junctions-of the die knives.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings the 1mproved dies are applied operatively to a die press andare rouped to occupy maximum area to the ful capacity of the press. shown there are five die sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, each comprising nine blank cutting dies sustained upon any suitable base-plate 6 which rests upon the press bedplate 7 Each d e section shown as comprising nine dles is itself made up of one largerpart including a lesser number, say six, of permanently grou ed blank cutters, and three incremental blan cutters one or two or all of which may be used with the six grouped cutters, as hereinafter'more fully described. The left-hand die section 1 and its relations with an adj oining die section will now be described with more special reference to Figs. 3 to 8 of the drawings.

Each of the six permanently groupedblank-cutting dies has an interior blankstripping plate or table marked 8, while the three incremental dies of each die section eachhas an interior stripping late marked 9. The six grouped cutting 1es comprise knives secured preferably by laterally rangingscrews to inner holders 10, one for each blank die. These holders may be accurately set in place by means of holes in thein fitting dowelins 11 fixed in the base late 6, an

the ho ders then are fixed by bo ts 12 to said baseplate. To facilitate easy and inexpensive construction while assuring a single cutting point at the junctions of the die knives with each other, the knives com rising the group of six dies, as shown inclu e one lofig 4 transverse left-hand knife 13 held preferably by screws 14, 14, to the first and sixth holders 10, as shown inFig. 7 of the drawings. A series of laterally curved or shaped longitudinal knives 15 at one end abut the said end knife 13, and at their opposite ends said knives 15 abut the long transverse knife 16 of the next die section 2, which corresponds. to the saidknife 13 of the first die section.

of each of the longitudinal knives 15 are fitf v forming its outer cutting edge.

ted closely to the bevels of the knives 13, 16, as most clearly shown at 17 in Fig. 8 of the drawings, thus causing the knife edges, to merge to a single cutting point at their junctions with each other to assure a complete or clean cut through the leather stock to produce series of blanks without waste of the valuable material.

A special teatu're of this invention is the arrangement of the longitudinal die knives 15 to have them simultaneously cut a series fastened or fitted tightly in channels between said holders.

I Said knives 15. may all be originally formed of like steel plates having similar laterally curved or shaped outlines. By reversing the alternate plates end-for-end and then sharpening their upper edges and fitting their bevel-edged parts at 17 ,to the knives 13, 16, while fastening the knives to their holders 10, the six permanently grou ed blank-cutting dies are set up for use.' lhe" knives of the three incremental dies inclosing the strippers 9, corn rise short end knives 19," 20, 21, each fastene by two screws 22.to the end of the correspondin holder 10, to or at one side of which a latera ly curved or shaped longitudinal knife .15 is held. The lastor third incremental die has an extra knife 15 At points of junction of the die knives 15, 19, 20, .21, between adjacent die sections 1 and 2 2 and 3, etc. the-knives of the incremental dies merge to a single cutting point to cleanly cut the leather stock without waste and substantially as above described for the permanently grouped series of six blank-cutting dies of each die section. The outer right-hand sectional die 5 will at its outer side have long and short knives 13, 19, 20, 21 forming the extreme right-hand cutting edges of the assembled die sections- Should there be used but one die section including a baseplate 6 and a permanently grouped series of six dies 8, with three incremental dies 9,' the knives 13, 19, 20, 21 will be duplicated at opposite long sidesof this incremental die.

It is obvious that the two end die sections 1, 5, may alone be used, and only with their permanently grou ed series of six cutting dies, thus making ut twelve blank-cutting dies acting simultaneously. These two die sections also may each carry one or two or all of their incremental dies to correspondingly increase the number of simultaneously cut .blanks. One or all of the intermediate die sections 2, 3, 4, also may be adjusted beor without the long transverse knives 13', 16, and also with or without any incremental dies. By thus relatively combining or adjusting the die sections, useless wear of the wood plunger facing block 23 which is moved -make desirable or necessary. Or again, only I one of the die sections may be used and withagainst the die knives is'avoided, as also is useless wear of knives entering the facin block but not actually cutting blanks, an thus the power required to o erate the blockcarrying plunger 24 by the pitman 25 coupled to the cranked press shaft 26, is reduced to a minimum, It is desirable to lock togetherthedie sections 1 to 5 which may at any time be used.

This may be done in any approved manner,

as for instance by securing lugs 27 by bolts 28 to front and rear ends of the die section baseplates 6.- These lugs 27 have slots 29, and when the lugs of two adjacent die sections meet face-to-face, a bolt 30 is assed transversely through the lug slots an" is tightened to lock the two die sections together, as shown in the drawings.

In my aforesaid rior patent the upward or outward throw of t e blank stri per plates or tables by expanding springs is limited by bolts held loosely at opposite ends in sockets formed in opposed pro ections on the knife holder and stripper plate and said plate had insufficient support by or from the springs alone against undue lateral play and the plate was thereforefitted with considerable labor between vertical walls of the knife holder to guide its movements.

have sufficient ate'ral support by or from the springs and the spring sockets and the plate lugs entering the springsto obviate the necessity' of expensively fitting the stri per In the hereindescribed im rovement the stripper plates.

plates edgewise to the opposed inner wa s of the die knives. Furthermore, all danger of injuring, more or less delicately faced leather or other stock or material by contact with it of any part of the strip er plate supports is entirely obviated by. t is invention, all as will now be described with more special reference to Figs. 3 and 5 of the drawings.

At each end the stripper plate 8 or 9 has a pendent lug 31 the lower end of which is bored at 32 to fit movably upon a pin 33 which is fixedly screwed into the die section baseplate 6. Above said bore 32 the lug 31 is counter-bored larger at 34 thus providing a shoulder 35. The upper reduced end of the pin 33 is split at 36 and said splitend has an exterior screwthread fitting an interior thread I made in a plug 37 which loosely fits the counthe seems terbore 34 and part of the bore 32 and has a lower shoulder adapted tocoact with the lug shoulder 35 to limit upward throw of the stripper plate by a sgiral spring 38. This spring surrounds the ate lug 31 and is held at its lowest art wit in a socket 39 formed in the die kni e holder 10 and above the baseplate 6. -The lug 31 also enters the socket 39 at the inside of the spring which thus has only vertical play between the lug and socket wall whereby the lug and the spring in the socket mutually support each ot er laterally to give every necessary lateral steadiness in all directions to the stripper plate 8 or 9 without closely and expenslvely fitting the late ed ewise within the coacting knives or ife ho ders. The interior screwthread of the plug 37 also receives matching exterior threads of a lock-nut 40 having a conical inn'er end adapted to enter the s lit 36 of the fixed pin 33 and spread its en for binding the pin threads in the plug threads to' lock the parts at desired ad ustment. Both the plug 37 and the nut 40 have nick's adapted to receive tools for turning them.

It is obvious that when the lock-nut 40 is screwed inward to bind the plug 37 to the pin 33, the ex anding spring 38 will force the stripper plate" 8 or 9 upward until it is stopped by contact of the upwardly facing lug shoulder 35 with the super osed down wardly facing plug-shoulder. hould it be desired to lower the normal level of the strip.-

per plate in. order to increase the tension of the s rings 38, or to accommodate wear of ie knives, it only is necessar to first loosen the lock-nuts 40, which a lows the plugs 37 to be turned inward on the exterior threads of the fixed pins 33 to the desired ex-. tent, whereupon the nuts 40 are again tightened to lock the parts at this new relative adjustment. By these simple. means the stripper plates -8 or 9 may be adjusted either inward or outward as occasion ma require.

The leather side or art is first aid upon the strippers 8 or 9 WlllCll normally lie above the edges of the die knives, and the leather or material is cleanly severed by all the operatively adjusted die sections or arts as the block 23 is forced downward until the knives squarely meet it or slightly enter its face. Immediately the block 23 rises from the die the strip er plates 8 or 9, which had been depressed uring the blank-cutting operation, are forced upward again by the springs 38 until stopped by contact of the plate lug shoulders 35 with the op osed shoulders of the plugs 37 which are loc ed by the nuts 40 to the fixed pins 33. v

This invention may be modified within the scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A die for leather cutting machines comprising a plurality of groups of longitudinally arranged cutting knives, opposed parallel transverse cutting knives, WhlCh span a series.

of said groups to form a permanent die section, and a series of opposed parallel transverse cutting knives for each of the succeedknives secured to sai holders and spanninga plurality of said right and left knives transversely to form a permanent die-section,

and opposed parallel transverse cutting ing groups of longitudinal knives to form inknives separately secured to each of the succeeding holders to span the longitudinal knives thereon and form incremental die sections.

3. A die for leather cutting machines comprising a base-plate, knife-holder centering and securing means thereon, a series of removable knife-holders, opposed right and left solecuttingknives carried by each holder, opposed parallel cutting knives secured to said holders and spanning a plurality of said right and left knives to form a permanent die-section, and a series of opposed parallel cutting knives separately secured to each of the succeeding holders to s an the pair "of right and left knives t ereon and form incremental die-sections.

4. In a cutting die of the character described, the cornbination'with the knives and theirrelatively fixed supports, of a stripper plate having pendent lugs each provided with an interior upwardly facing shoulder, expanding springs surrounding said lugs and located partly in sockets of the knife supports, pins fixed relative to and extending into said sockets, and plugs fitting said pins within the stripper plate lugs and having exterior shoulders opposing the interior shoulders of said lugs; said plugs being vertically adjustable on the fixed pins, substantially as described.

5. In a cutting die of the character described, the combination with the knives and their relatively fixed su ports, of a stripper plate having pendent ugs each provided with an interior upwardly-facing shoulder, expanding s rings surrounding said lugs and located parlily in sockets of the knife sup ports, plns fixed relative to and extending into said sockets having upper exterior screwthreads, and plugs having interior threads fitting the fixed pin threads and also having under-facing shoulders opposing the lug shoulders, whereby the yieldlng stripper plate may be vertically adjusted by turning the plugs on the fixed pins, substantially as I described.

3. In a cutting die of the character described, the comblnation with the knives and their relatively; g'fixed isupportaiof ia; stripper plate having pendent lugs each provided with an interior upwardly-facing shoulder, expanding s rings surrounding said lugs and located part y in the sockets of the kni e supports, fixed pins in said sockets having upper exterior screwthreads and also having split upper ends, plugs havin interior threads fitting the fixed pin threa s and also having under-facing shoulders opposing the lug shoulders,- and lock-nuts fitting the interior threads of the shouldered plugs and ada ted to spread the split threaded ends of the ins, whereby the yielding stripper plate may e vertically adjusted by turnin the plugs on the fixed pins and may then lw secured 15 by the lock-nuts, substantially as described. Signed at New York; in the county of New York, and State of NewYork, this 20 day of Sept, A. D. 1907.

HENRY STOOKMAN Witnesses:

CHAS. F. DANE, M. E. STANTON. 

